The purpose of this study was to understand the perception of mothers of children with Down's Syndrome about breast feeding, their relationship with this practice and the health professional performance in this context. The methodology used was the qualitative one. The sample was composed of forteen (14) mothers of children with Down's Syndrome. The technique used to collect the data was the semi-structured interview. The interview schedule had questions related to mothers' feeling about breast feeding, its meaning, their longings, difficulties or habilities. The main results revealed that, besides the problems related to the child, the impact caused by the news of having a child with deficiency, as well as the presence or not of capable and sensitive health profissionals in the orientations to these mothers, can be factors which contribute to inhibit or to facilitate the lactation process.
breast feeding; Down Syndrome; mother guidance